Inowrocław (Novo Wladislaw) is first named in a document of 20 January 1185 for the bishop of Włocławek (en.wikipedia), by which Duke Leszek of Masovia also gave the bishop Słońsk and Kowal.
It stands among salt springs in northern Kuyavia, with a Romanesque church of St Mary of about 1200. Its district covers the north of Kuyavia toward Pakość and Gniewkowo; beyond it the lower Brda and the Vistula bend, with the Kuyavian Wyszogród (now Fordon) and Bydgoszcz, face the Noteć country of Greater Poland and Pomerelia. The castellanies of Inowrocław, Wyszogród and Bydgoszcz are recorded in the 13th century; their state and officers in 1200 are not pinned.
Who he is
- Name
- not named for 1199-1200
- Title
- castellan (kasztelan) for the duke
- Since
- not pinned
- Born
- not pinned
- Family
- not pinned
- Confidence
- low
Wikipedia (en): Inowrocław; Wikipedia (en): Leszek of Masovia
Overlord
the duke of Masovia (Konrad, under his mother's regency)
What it holds
- The castle and salt springs of Inowrocław
- The villages of northern Kuyavia to Pakość and Gniewkowo
- The lower Brda and the Kuyavian Wyszogród (Fordon) at the Vistula bend (not pinned)
How it was acquired
An office held at the duke's pleasure; the castellan keeps the castle, leads its levy, judges and collects the dues of the district.
Allies and rivals
The palatine and the other castellans; the great families of the district.
How things stand that morning
Held for Casimir's sons since 1198; officers not named.
Wealth
The district's dues in kind and services, the market and toll at the castle, and the duke's share of court fines.
Military
The castle levy of the district under the castellan; no numbers known.
Threats
- Pomerelian or Greater Polish pressure on the lower Brda and the Vistula bend
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: en.wikipedia gives the 1185 first mention and the church; the castellanies are 13th-century evidence.
On the map: The district is drawn round its castle with the places named; castle districts were rights over the people of a group of villages, and their 1200 edges are not known.
Primary sources for Masovia and Kuyavia
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- Chronicle of the Poles, by Master Vincent (Wincenty Kadłubek), Wincenty Kadłubek (about 1190 to 1208). Book 4 is a contemporary's account of the fight for the senior throne of Kraków. Read online
- The annals of the Kraków chapter and the other Polish annals (kept from the 11th century; the Kraków chapter annals continued to 1266). Short dated entries that fix the chronology Kadłubek blurs: the deaths of dukes and bishops, Mieszko the Old's captures of Kraków, Prussian raids on Masovia, church consecrations. Read online
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.